A Sign
by somefangirl
Summary: Zoro's condition was worse than Luffy had ever seen it, and alone with his doubt a sign was all Luffy really wanted.
When Luffy had passed out after defeating Moria, he'd had a dream. Nothing had happened at first, but then he'd heard Zoro screaming in pain. He'd been convinced it was a nightmare until he'd seen Sanji carrying Zoro's blood-soaked body to them. Now, he couldn't sleep for fear of having another nightmare-turned-reality about his swordsman even worse than the first. Not like Luffy could sleep anyway, Zoro's screams were still very clear in his head and would most definitely stop any attempts at sleep he could make.

Why had Zoro been screaming like that? Why was he so hurt? Who did this to him? None of the others would tell Luffy anything, so he'd stopped asking. Even if Luffy wasn't hurting from any injuries, his heart was being ripped to shreds as he traced over Zoro's far-too-many bandages with his eyes.

Zoro's chance of survival was unclear, but if his condition were to worsen, it'd definitely happen that night. Chopper had been forced to bed after working furiously all day treating people, so he'd have rest if things went south. Luffy's job was to stay up and alert Chopper if anything went wrong, since he was the only person unharmed and didn't need rest. And again, with all the fear and worry, it's not like he could have gotten any sleep anyway.

Luffy lied on his side facing Zoro, close by Zoro's left side. He watched the weak rise and fall of Zoro's chest. It was steady, at least, which was a good sign. Luffy watched carefully, scared to take his eyes off Zoro for even a moment. Zoro's condition could change at any second, and whether it was worse or better was unknown. Though Luffy had faith in his friends, he'd never seen Zoro so badly hurt or Chopper so worried. Not to mention, in the dark of night fears and stress always seemed more intense, and Luffy found himself doubting even though he shouldn't have.

Honestly, Luffy was scared. He was scared of losing Zoro, and scared of how real the possibility was that he would. The possibility was always real and always there, of course. They were pirates after all, and pirates died. That was a fact Luffy had always known. That didn't mean Luffy had to like it, though. To lose Zoro–or anyone else, after all they had been through and still had yet to go through together... It would be devastating. Luffy wished he could just take at least some of Zoro's pain onto himself. It'd probably hurt less than the uncertainty he was suffering through.

"Zoro…" Luffy whispered quietly. He'd been watching Zoro for hours, and Zoro's condition hadn't changed one bit. Luffy wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. Luffy wasn't sure of anything, and it was slowly destroying him. "Please get better…"

Zoro, of course, did not respond. He gave no indication he heard what Luffy said. Of course he didn't. He was, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world around him.

"Can you at least give me a sign you're getting better? Or a sign that you're… Just give me a sign." Luffy said. Zoro, again, made no change whatsoever. Luffy made no move either, and there was still silence for a few moments until Luffy moved. He reached out and grabbed Zoro's nearest hand, his left, then pulled it up to his face and rested his cheek on the palm. He held the back of Zoro's hand with his right and loosely held Zoro's wrist with his left. Zoro did not react to his hand being moved, nor did he react to his hand being held or used as a pillow. Zoro didn't react to the sound of Luffy sniffling, either.

Luffy had done his best to keep it together. He'd lasted the whole day, even when some of his other crew mates hadn't been able to. However, alone with Zoro and his worries he couldn't hold himself together for much longer. He sniffled again and turned his face to Zoro's hand to hide the water starting to build up in his eyes. His grip on Zoro's wrist tightened and tears began to slide down his face.

"Zoro, please recover." Luffy said. "At least give me a sign you're getting better."

A bit of water pooled in Zoro's hand, and after a few seconds, Luffy felt it twitch. It was so small and quick Luffy could have imagined it, but he knew he didn't. Zoro's hand twitched! It wasn't much, but to Luffy, it meant the world. It was the sign he was looking for. Zoro would be okay!

Luffy sat up as his breath hitched with another round of tears, but this time with relief as he began to smile. He took his hand off Zoro's wrist and wiped his eyes. He had no need to cry anymore. There was nothing more to cry over.

Luffy knew Zoro would be okay, so he lied back down next to Zoro's hand and locked the fingers of his left hand with Zoro's hand. With Zoro's wordless promise of recovery in mind, Luffy drifted peacefully off to sleep.


End file.
